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FRIENDLY DIALOGUE. DIALOGUE.

ATHANASIAN. Neighbour, as I always thought you a perfon of a ferious turn of mind, and have frequently observed your exemplary conduct in the public worship, your behaviour this day, at church, gave me great surprise, and indeed uneasiness, becaufe you feemed to treat fome parts of our excellent liturgy with difregard. You used to repeat, after the minifter, the four first petitions of the litany, in a devout and folemn manner; and to join in every part of our liturgy, fo juftly celebrated by great numbers of pious and learned men. But I took notice this day, at church, you put on a filent indifference, when GOD THE SON, GOD THE HOLY GHOST, and the THREE PERSONS in the trinity were invoked; neither did you seem to give your affent to the doxology, fo frequently directed, to FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST. You feemed likewife not to join in the latter end of thofe prayers, which conclude with the doctrine of the

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trinity in unity, fo plainly and folemnly established by our glorious church, and confirmed by the learned pains of many excellent writers. I fhould be glad to know the true reafon of this furprifing change; and make no doubt but you will readily explain yourself upon these religious points, as you and I have had frequent conferences upon fubjects of fcrip

ture.

UNITARIAN. Why, really, neighbour, I acknowledge the juftnefs of your charge. As my fentiments are very different from those I formerly embraced, and was educated in; fo I think it my duty to a confiftently with my principles, and to profefs and practise, in religious matters, according to the dictates of my confcience. There was a little book, published fome years ago, under the title of, An APPEAL TO THE COMMON SENSE OF ALL CHRISTIAN PEOPLE, &c. written by a country clergyman. And fince then, another fmall tract entitled, AN APPEAL TO THE SERIOUS AND CANDID PROFESSORS OF CHRISTIANITY: thefe I have care

fully

* The third and last edition of the Appeal to common fenfe, by the late Rev. William Hopkins, vicar of Bolney, in Suffex, was published 1775, by Mr. Johnfon, in St. Paul's-church-yard. Mr. Hopkins died in April, 1786, in the 80th year of his age, and fome memoirs of his life and writings, (by the editor of this treatife,)

fully read, confidered, and compared with scripture, and more particularly with regard to the article of religious worship, which is of a practical nature; and profess myself deeply convinced, by the express determination of Chrift and his apoftles, that the church-worship offered up to Jefus Christ, the mesfenger of God, and to the holy spirit; and to the trinity, as being three persons, and one God, is falfe and unfcriptural, from whence, I think, it neceffarily follows, that the famous athanafian doctrine of three co-equal perfons in one God, has no foundation in the word of God.

ATHANASIAN. Oh, my friend! you astonish me by fuch a bold declaration; and I beg of you, for the fake of your future happiness, to take heed, and beware how you run into a dangerous herefy, before you have weighed this important bufiness with a cool and unprejudiced mind. What! is it poffible to imagine that so many wife and good fo men should have been so grievously mistaken, as to be guilty of falfe worship in their folemn address to almighty God? Don't you know, that our liturgy

was

treatife,) were the next year prefixed to the remain. ing copies of his Appeal. For an account of the original publication of this firft dialogue, fee pp. xiv. and xv. of the memoirs.-The Appeal to the professors of christianity, and the tracts connected with it, are also fold by J. Johnfon in St. Paul's church-yard.

was compiled by pious and learned men; and that it has been celebrated by feveral excellent writers, as the most perfect and chriftian form of public devotion in the whole chriftian world? You fhould, therefore, fufpect, that these authors have impofed on your judgment by fome delufive arts, when their arguments have a tendency to draw you off from an important part of religious worship, fettled and determined by the venerable fathers of the church of England, established by acts of parliament and convocation, and strongly enforced by a pious and learned clergy.

UNITARIAN. I am obliged to you, my good friend, for your advice, as I am well affured it proceeds from a kind regard for my fpiritual welfare. But I can feriously declare, that my conviction has not been hafty: in the course of my inquiry, I made all poffible objections to the doctrines delivered in both thefe APPEALS, for the very reafon you affign; and I thought it ftrange and unaccountable, that fuch an excellent church fhould have continued fo long in an error that breaks in upon the true character of the one God and Father of all, and the holy and only worship admitted, practifed, and directed by Chrift and his apoftles. And, in order to convince you of my fincerity in this grand affair, I must acquaint you that I fent for feveral answers to thefe publications, which have been written by learned perfons; and have also carefully examined fome defences of them.

Upon

Upon the moft fincere and impartial inquiry, not without earnest applications to the God of truth, for the direction of his holy spirit in my religious disquifitions, I profefs myself an UNITARIAN CHRISTIAN, or a firm believer in one fupreme God and Father of all, as a principle of natural as well as revealed religion. 1 fee with my own eyes, and perceive with my own understanding, that it is my duty to worship and pray to the one God and Father of all, in the name of, or as the difciple of Jefus Chrift, for the affiftance of his holy spirit and guidance; and think it lawful to offer up petitions to none other, except the invifible and felf-existent creator and governor of the world, the one only living and true God. As our lord commanded no worship or prayer to be made to himself, and directed his apostles and others, to pray only to God, our Father, who is in heaven; and they taught their disciples the fame: furely, to pay religious worship to any other, must be judged, by every unprejudiced chriftian, as an inftance of will-worship, not warranted by the word of God; and, confequently, fuch unfcriptural forms of devotion ought to be laid aside, though established by the authority of wife and learned men. With respect to the worship of the trinity in unity, or three perfons and one God, not even the least colour of evidence can be produced for it; every form of worship set forth by Chrift and his apoftles is abfolutely inconfiftent with it. It is certainly worshipping God.

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